Latest AM Best Headlines

All the headlines from our AM Best Topic Page, ordered by recency.

LUBA Indemnity Insurance Assigned A- Financial Strength Rating by A.M. Best

Oct 21 2016 // A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and a long-term issuer credit rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” to LUBA Indemnity Insurance Co.LUBA Indemnity a wholly owned subsidiary of...

A.M. Best: Damage From Hurricane Matthew Won’t Affect Most Insurer Ratings

Oct 18 2016 // A.M. Best does not anticipate a significant number of rating actions related to Hurricane Matthew, as most rated insurance carriers have sufficient capital and appropriate reinsurance programs in place to effectively...

Starr Buys Wright USA from Ironshore, Subsidiary of China’s Fosun

Sep 26 2016 // Starr Companies has acquired Wright USA from Ironshore Insurance Services, a subsidiary of China’s Fosun Group.Wright USA is an insurance agency and third-party administrator principally providing Federal Employee...

Low Prices Ultimately Could Bite London Market Insurers: A.M. Best, PwC Reports

Sep 19 2016 // The business outlook for the London insurance market is a familiar one across other global markets: underwriting profits are under pressure as ongoing soft market prices begin to take a toll.In separate reports on the...

Workers’ Compensation Market Enters Soft Market: A.M. Best

Sep 14 2016 // The workers’ compensation market has likely entered a soft market phase based on a declining trend in price increases that began in 2013, according to a new report from A.M. Best.The report titled, “State...

A.M. Best Withdraws Credit Ratings of Oklahoma’s Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance

Sep 12 2016 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of B (Fair) and the long-term issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bb+” of Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Co. (Farmers) in Okarche, Okla.The outlook for the...

Top 25 Non-Life Reinsurers: Swiss Re Leads, Berkshire Drops in A.M. Best’s 2016 Ranking

Sep 12 2016 // Swiss Re landed on top of a ranking of global non-life reinsurers, just edging out Munich Re by a few hundred million dollars in premium on a list extracted from an A.M. Best analysis.The rating agency’s special...

Europe’s Top Cedents Saw Cessions Jump by Double Digits in 2015: A.M. Best

Sep 8 2016 // Europe’s top cedents reported a double-digit hike in cessions for 2015 compared to the previous year. The trend stems from their taking advantage of cheap and bountiful reinsurance capacity, A.M. Best said in a new...

Negative Reinsurance Sector Outlook Not Changing Anytime Soon: A.M. Best

Sep 7 2016 // A.M. Best said its outlook for the reinsurance sector remains negative due to a multitude of factors, and it will likely stay that way for quite some time.“Our rating outlook remains longer-term than our typical...

A.M. Best Downgrades Ratings of Florida-Based American Capital Assurance

Aug 30 2016 // A.M. Best has downgraded the financial strength rating to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating to “a-” from “a+” for American Capital Assurance Corp (ACAC) of St....

Outlooks for Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Revised to Positive: A.M. Best

Aug 26 2016 // A.M. Besthas revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Co. (WMIC) in Madison,...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Positive for Texas-Based State National Group

Aug 25 2016 // A.M. Best revised the issuer credit rating (ICR) outlook to positive from stable, and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the ICRs of “a” of State National Insurance Co. Inc. and...

Low Prices Ultimately Could Bite London Market Insurers: A.M. Best, PwC Reports

Aug 24 2016 // The business outlook for the London insurance market is a familiar one across other global markets: underwriting profits are under pressure as ongoing soft market prices begin to take a toll.In separate reports on the...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Negative for New York-Based Lancer Insurance

Aug 22 2016 // A.M. Best has revised its outlook from stable to negative for New York-based Lancer Insurance Co. and Lancer Indemnity Co.The move comes as Lancer Insurance’s underwriting performance declined in the past several...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Negative for New York-Based Lancer Insurance

Aug 11 2016 // A.M. Best has revised its outlook from stable to negative for New York-based Lancer Insurance Co. and Lancer Indemnity Co..The move comes as Lancer Insurance’s underwriting performance declined in the past several...

A.M. Best Assigns ‘A’ Rating to Starr International (Europe) Ltd.

Aug 8 2016 // A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a” to UK-based Starr International (Europe) Ltd. (SIEL). The outlook assigned to each rating is...

Captive Insurers in Strong Position: A.M. Best

Aug 3 2016 // Captive insurance companies rated by A.M. Best ended 2015 in strong form, recording pretax operating income of $1.4 billion, a 13.5 percent increase over 2014, according to a new A.M. Best special report.The Best Special...

A.M. Best Withdraws Ratings of Century Casualty Company in Georgia

Jul 28 2016 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of B (Fair) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bb+” of Century Casualty Company in Alpharetta, Ga. The outlook for the FSR remains stable, while...

Ironshore Files for IPO in U.S. After A.M. Best Review of Parent Firm Fosun

Jul 25 2016 // Ironshore Inc., the insurer purchased by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. last year, filed for an initial public offering in the U.S. after a ratings firm cited concerns about the parent firm’s financial...

Best Revises Lloyd’s Outlook to Stable from Positive on Difficult Business Conditions

Jul 22 2016 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to stable from positive of Lloyd’s and Lloyd’s Insurance Co. (China) Ltd., while at the same time affirming their financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and issuer...